In the electronics manufacturing industry, many electronic devices have printed circuit assemblies (PCAs) including one or more printed circuit boards (PCBs) and a plurality of components attached to the PCBs. For example, PCAs are commonly used in computers, televisions, stereos and many other types of electronic devices. Because the electronics manufacturing industry is highly competitive, it is desirable to reduce costs associated with shipping, assembling and inventorying PCBs and the related components for manufacturing a particular PCA. The "Original Equipment Manufacturers" (OEMs) of "motherboards" and "central processing units" (CPUs) used in personal computers are a particularly competitive group of PCA manufacturers that are continually seeking to add value to their products.
Many personal computers now have Pentium 11 CPUs manufactured by Intel Corporation of California. The Pentium II.RTM. unlike its predecessors, is a single-edge-contact unit that is coupled to a contact slot in the motherboard in an upright position along a single edge. Pentium II CPUs generally extend to a height well above the other components on the motherboard, and thus the Pentium II CPUs may be damaged or broken during handling, shipping and operation. To protect the Pentium II CPUs, OEMs generally require that a fixed bracket be mounted to the motherboard proximate to the contact slot in the motherboard. The fixed brackets generally extend to the height of the Pentium II CPUs. The fixed brackets and Pentium II CPUs, however, extend from the motherboards by such a great distance that they significantly reduce the number of motherboards that may be shipped in a given container. Thus, to reduce shipping costs and protect the CPUs, OEMs generally ship the fixed brackets and the Pentium II CPUs separately from the motherboards. A computer manufacturer then attaches the Pentium II CPUs to the motherboards while assembling personal computers.
To attach Pentium II CPUs to motherboards, computer manufacturers usually mount the fixed brackets to the motherboards at a CPU mounting site on the motherboard near the contact slot. The fixed brackets accordingly protect and hold the Pentium II CPUs in a desired operating position relative to the motherboards. Computer manufacturers, and especially custom computer manufacturers that assemble each computer to order, incur additional costs to mount the fixed brackets to the motherboards. For example, custom computer manufacturers must maintain significant inventories of brackets and fasteners that increase the overhead costs to individually assemble each computer to order. Custom computer manufacturers must also expend additional labor resources to mount the fixed brackets to the motherboards, and additional administrative resources may be required to manage the inventory and labor. Thus, it would be desirable to reduce the computer manufacturer's costs to attach Pentium II CPUs to motherboards without increasing the OEMs' shipping costs.